Product

Gamification is a business strategy that uses game design techniques in a non-game context to improve user behaviour by engaging and motivating users to achieve their goals. The purpose of gamification is to tap into the basic desires and needs of user impulses based around the concept of achievement and status.

According to a Gartner Research Report by 2015 an estimate of more than 50% of organisations managing innovation processes will gamify those processes.

A lot of time and resources are put into organising and running events for your association or NFP organisation. Events can also put a lot of unwanted stress on top of your staff members workload.

What if there was a more effective way of running your association’s events resulting in time, resources and money saved? Would you be open to innovation and change that has proven results?

Event Attendee Lists 

Keeping on top of your entire associations financials and accounts can be an extremely time consuming and a frustrating process, especially if you are using a manual or other add-on accounting software. If your current software only ‘speaks’ to one or just a couple of your other products and not your entire system then it may be time for you to rethink how you can make your job easier, while making your association run more efficiently and productively. 

Xero

The Drupal open source community continues to grow, having success among larger developer communities with x.commerce joining Twitter. The move came last month with a new division of PayPal that now serves as an open and central meeting point for over 700,000 developers for the likes of eBay, PayPal, Magento and others.

X.commerce now relies on Drupal-run sites for product information and coding tips and allows the flow of idea exchanges. Through making the switch to an open source community it enables developers to work around its documentation and communities.

Associations need more than ever to have content management systems (CMS), which is the ability manage content on their membership websites. This allows staff to edit home page banners with the latest conference or association news, edit resources, special interest groups (SIGs) and literally anything on the website where you can see content.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has come a long way in terms of consumers now being more familiar with the concept. The fact is that many organisations know what a CRM is, however, most associations are still not using the system very well, and there are a few reasons for this. Xero conducted research on 600 clients currently using a variety of CRM applications, and found that only 20% are using them correctly. You may be asking what the correct outcome is.

Making the decision to upgrade your system is the first step and acknowledges that there are new technologies available that will enable your association to function more efficiently. Hundreds of associations are in the same boat and each want the right solution for their needs. Arming yourself with the right information can get you started on the right foot and you’ll be on your way to a successful software upgrade.

Making the transition to a new software base can be a daunting experience for staff members, and the right procedures need to be implemented correctly to ensure a smooth transition. Teaching staff how to operate modern software is usually very simple. The software used today for business management and accounting has become very user-friendly where you can now spend most of your time in the one central location, also known as the CRM.

Traditionally associations used manual accounting business software, where data was manually input into the system. Now successful associations will find that maintaining several different pieces of software is extremely inefficient. Associations need to know there are solutions out there designed to improve their business processes with the right integrated accounting software.

Companies traditionally operated under the assumption that building the best product possible was the key to gaining market leadership. However, with the increase in product customisation and the rising demand on associations’ time, more and more companies are realising that it’s not just about what they sell but also the service provided and who they market to be crucial.